


éros, n: romantic love

by SoVeryAverageMe



Series: Own Kind of Love [4]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Baking, Boys In Love, Established Relationship, Fluff, Love, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Moving In Together, Post-Bitty's Graduation, talking about feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:48:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22732813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoVeryAverageMe/pseuds/SoVeryAverageMe
Summary: Bitty could have never imagined that this was where he was going to end up when he chose Samwell. He had carved this life out for himself. One that was full of happiness, hockey, and baking. It was defined by incoherent laughter, exhilarating joy, and profound love.When he tried to imagine what the next four years held he didn’t know what was ahead of him, but one thing was certain. There would be Jack. Always Jack.(Or, it's the day that Bitty moves in to Jack's Providence apartment. Jack wants him to stay forever, so he asks Bitty to marry him).
Relationships: Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann
Series: Own Kind of Love [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1634569
Comments: 10
Kudos: 165





	éros, n: romantic love

**Author's Note:**

> Wow! It's been a while since I've written omgcp (and I'm finally writing zimbits!), but with the end of the comic coming soon, this felt like the right time to come back. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Jack carried him over the threshold of the door. Bitty curled into his shoulder, laughing when he was swung around.

“Welcome to your new home, Mr. Bittle,” Jack said, setting him down and giving him a mock bow. He stepped back to gesture to the rest of the apartment. The movement had none of the grace that he had on ice, instead becoming strangely endearing.

“Well, how delightful Mr. Zimmermann,” he replied, returning the bow.

The two of them burst out laughing, falling onto the couch. Bitty tangled his fingers through Jack’s hair. “This is really happening, isn’t it?”

He felt himself being flipped over. Jack settled on his back, propped up by the armrest of the couch with Bitty straddling his thighs. “And what might _this_ be?”

“Getting to move in with my incredibly generous,” he leaned down to kiss Jack on the forehead, “ridiculously attractive,” his next kiss was on Jack’s cheek, “and wildly successful boyfriend,” he finished, pausing inches away from his lips. Jack reached up, grabbing his hair to close the distance between them.

A warmth rolled through him has the kisses turned more heated, but neither of them were in any hurry. It was as if they had all the time in the world. They continued to lazily kiss on the couch, until Bitty caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. He pulled off of Jack to get a better look. “Is that my Kitchen Aid?”

Jack shook his head, still caught in a daze from their make-out session. His hair was delightfully mussed, and his lips swollen. “Uh… probably, the movers dropped off your stuff yesterday.” He followed Bitty’s eyeline, seeing the piled up boxes set aside in one corner of the kitchen. “I didn’t want to touch any of it. I know that you have a certain way you like things organized.”

Bitty was already lifting himself over the back of the couch, beelining toward the kitchen. “Do you know where they put my box with the antique casserole pans. I marked it fragile, but you never know if they actually pay attention to that. I need to check that they made it here safely, they’re family heirlooms, you know?”

He let out a little chuckle, pulling himself upright onto the couch and turning back to look at Bitty. Smiling to himself, he watched Bitty putter around the kitchen like it was his own. He moved boxes about, opened and closed cupboards, and started reorganizing Jack’s entire pantry. There was something so bright about the other boy, Jack couldn’t help but be entranced by Bitty’s happiness. He had been over to the apartment dozens of times in the past year, but this was the first time it was _theirs._

“Honey?” Jack looked up to see Bitty staring at him. “I asked if you knew where the casserole pans were.” 

“Um…” He dragged his eyes away from Bitty, forcing himself to think. “I had all the fragile boxes set aside so they wouldn’t get squished at the bottom of the pile. I think they’re lined up in the hallway.”

The couch was abandoned in favor of trying to find the missing boxes of kitchen supplies. Jack kissed the top of Bitty’s head on the way over to the hallway, and other boy hummed, blush coloring his cheeks. “Thanks, babe.”

“Mhmm…” Jack looked at boxes in front of him and grabbing the first one labeled ‘kitchen.’ He set it down on the counter next to his boyfriend. “Do you know how many I’m looking for?”

“Um...” Bitty was distracted by stacking different sets of mixing bowls, trying to get them to fit into one of the lower cupboards. “The casserole dishes, the cake stands, those fancy glass pie pans, the antique ceramic mixing bowl, and uh—”

Jack cut him off with a kiss. “You just keep unpacking, and I’ll just grab all of them.” He was already back in the hallway. “We can take inventory and figure out what’s missing once you unpack them all.”

“You’re the best.”

“I know,” he chirped back. Bitty punched him in the shoulder on his next pass, and he couldn’t resist the urge to sweep his boyfriend into passionate kiss.

Pulling back, he looked into Bitty’s eyes. “Although, I’d say that I come in second place to this boy who’s an amazing baker.” He held him firm as Bitty tried to wriggle out of his grasp, “who’s such a great team captain and hockey player.” Jack nuzzled into his hair. “He also just so happens to be my boyfriend.”

Even the tips of Bitty’s ears were flushed red, and he pushed against Jack’s chest, forcing them apart. “Just go get the rest of the boxes.”

Jack let him go and turned back toward the hallway. “Hey, Bits?” He waited until he knew he had the other boy’s attention. “I love you.”

Bitty’s smiled lit up his entire world. “I love you too.”

* * *

After several hours, the two of them had finally unpacked all of the Bitty’s kitchen supplies that he’d kept at the Haus. They had a small pile of donations set aside, from where he had bought doubles of some of the items, so that Bitty could have access to them when he spent weekends in Providence.

They had also found the cookie cutter that Bitty had stolen from his mother the last time that he’d been back home. Jack didn’t quite understand the importance of it, but it had something to do with an annual bake-off. He was going to go to the post office first thing in the morning in order to overnight ship it back to Georgia.

Jack mentioned that they should just unpack all of Bitty’s things now, but his boyfriend insisted that the personal items would be a lot quicker. There were a lot fewer boxes involved, and Bitty had enough stuff he had “forgotten” from previous visits to make it through the night without unpacking them.

Bitty pulled out some flour and butter, while Jack was sitting on one of the stools next to the kitchen island. “We need to break in the kitchen,” he flashed Jack a sly smile, promise laced into his words. “How does pie sound?”

“You’ve made dozens of pies in this kitchen,” Jack replied, his eyes following Bitty. After unpacking, he had changed into a pair of shorts and a ratty old Samwell shirt. Every time that Bitty reached for the upper cabinets the shirt would ride up, showing a strip of skin. It distracted him every single time it happened.

“Jack. Jack?” Bitty stood in front of him, waving his hand in front of Jack’s face.

“Hmm?” He reached out to grab Bitty’s waist, slipping a hand under his shirt. When he rubbed his thumb across the skin above his shorts, he felt his boyfriend lean into his embrace. “What were you saying?”

A hand was lovingly brushed through his hair, and Bitty dropped a kiss on his lips. “I said that now it’s _our_ kitchen.”

“Mhmm… I like the sound of that.” Jack pulled him closer, until he was practically sitting in his lap. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to break in any of the other rooms first?”

“We have plenty of time to do that.” Jack’s hands unconsciously tightened around Bitty’s waist. The other boy just smirked in response, kissing the tip of his nose. “But first, pie.”

Bitty pulled away, washing his hands before adding the ingredients for pie crust to a mixing bowl. Music was playing out of the Bluetooth speakers, and Jack could see Bitty mouthing the words to the songs. Baking was always a beautifully choregraphed dance, where Bitty knew all of the steps by heart. It looked easy and graceful and _right._ Jack never wanted to look away, the love he felt almost overwhelming.

It was in that moment that Jack made a decision. _The_ decision.

He padded toward the bedroom, his socks slapping on the tiles on the kitchen tiles before being muffled by the carpet. “Jack?”

“I just have to grab something from the bedroom.” Bitty hummed in acknowledgement before going back to humming along to his baking playlist.

Digging through the drawer of his bedside table, he pulled out a velvet box that had been shoved into the far corner. His hands were shaking as he flipped it open, the ring glittering back at him. He shoved it into the pocket of his sweatpants, hands imperceptibly shaking, and wondered if he should change into better clothes. The suit he wore to roadies was clean – his eyes flicked to the closet, internally debating. He could see Bitty’s clothes mixed into his, thrown into his laundry bin, and other personal belongings strewn around their shared living area.

_No_ , he decided. This was who they were. Messy, authentic, and so intertwined into each other’s lives that it was hard to tell where Jack ended and Bitty began. He took a deep breath and headed toward the kitchen.

Bitty had his back to him, placing the pie into the oven. Even after all these years of watching him bake, Jack still wasn’t sure how time and space seemed to bend to his will when baking. He knew that he had only been gone for a few minutes. It was just another thing that he loved about him.

When Bitty turned around, wiping his hands on a towel, Jack was already down on one knee.

“Jack?” he gasped, hands in front of his mouth in shock. “Wha—”

“I didn’t plan to do it this way,” he interrupted. “But seeing you here, at home, in _our_ kitchen, well—I never want you to leave, Bits.” Swallowing, he willed himself to continue, voice trembling, “I never thought that I would get to have this.” He knew that Bitty wouold understand that he meant, even if it went unsaid: happiness, love, and the chance to be himself. “You are the love of my life. And being with you just _feels_ so right.” Flipping open the ring box, he finished. “Will you marry me, Eric Bittle?”

Bitty heaved a shaky breathe, and in between that one and the next, Jack was getting tackled to floor. He felt Bitty’s hands fist into his hair while he was still getting his bearings. “Yes! Jack,” his voice cracked. “Of course I will. Yes!”

Jack didn’t get a chance to respond because his lips were suddenly occupied. Every time that he tried to get a word in, Bitty would moan or attack his lips again, running his hands up and down Jack’s body.

He lost himself to the moment.

Eventually, they had to get up. Jack’s back can’t take lying on the floor forever, and he’d really not like to get chewed out by the Falc’s trainer. Bitty pulled them up, so the two of them weren’t separated for even a moment. The two stood in the kitchen for what felt like forever, just soaking in each other’s very beings.

“How long have you been planning this?” Bitty asked, holding his hand out so that he could see the ring sparkle under the kitchen lights.

“I bought the ring before playoffs started,” Jack admitted softly.

“You jerk,” Bitty lightly hit him in the shoulder, tears in his eyes. “That means you’ve had it for months.”

“Uh, actually,” Jack flushed. “It was the playoffs of _last_ year.” 

It took a moment for that statement to sink in. When it did, Bitty’s eyes went wide – both with awe and confusion. “I don’t—” his voice cracked. “What do you mean?”

“I had everything that I ever wanted when I was kid. The Falcs had a legitimate chance for the Cup, but…” he trailed off, shaking his head. “But somehow I thought that even if we lost and it felt horrible. Well, you’d make me feel better.”

“Always,” he promised.

“I’ve known that I’ve wanted to spend my entire life with you for a long time, Eric Bittle.” Jack hugged him closed, tucking Bitty under his chin. “I just had to wait for you to catch up.”

“Thanks for waiting.” Bitty smiled against his skin, burrowing into Jack’s hold. The two of them were in their own world, swaying to the music of the playlist that Bitty left playing. In that moment, there was nowhere that two rather be than entwined in each other’s arms. They stayed that way until the kitchen timer went off.

“Why don’t we celebrate with some pie?” Jack loosened his hold, letting go and walking toward the fridge. “I’ve also got some champagne hidden away. It was to celebrate your move, but—” He eyed the ring on Bitty’s finger. “I think we have bigger things to celebrate now.” 

Bitty wiped the tears from his eyes, smiling at him. “It’s a date.”

“One of many more still to come.”

* * *

Bitty could have never imagined that this was where he was going to end up when he chose Samwell. He had carved this life out for himself. One that was full of happiness, hockey, and baking. It was defined by incoherent laughter, exhilarating joy, and profound love.

When he tried to imagine what the next four years held he didn’t know what was ahead of him, but one thing was certain. There would be Jack. Always Jack.

In 4 years and in 10 years and in 25 years. Maybe they’d be across the country or abroad. Maybe there would be hockey and baking, or maybe those would be replaced with new hobbies and jobs. But through it all, there would always be Eric Bittle and Jack Zimmermann. 

For now though, it was the two of them in a Providence apartment, with a fresh baked pie, and a ludicrously expensive bottle of champagne. This place carried its own kind of love, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Feel free to check out what I'm up to on other parts of the internet (I'm usually procrastinating on [twitter](https://twitter.com/SoVeryAverageMe) or [tumblr](https://soveryaverageme.tumblr.com/)).


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